Charlie Adam has been fantastic for Liverpool this season, and so far he's contributed two goals and seven assists to the cause. Despite this, there are still fans who argue that he was a bad signing (!), which is ridiculous given his Specific, Measurable Creative Contribution (SMCC), without which Liverpool would be floundering near the relegation zone.

The simple fact is this: without Adam's SMCC this season, Liverpool would be struggling.

The Scot's personal impact on the team has been immense, and so far, he has been directly responsible for 50% of the team's league goals.

Let's look at the facts:

Adam has been worth 11 extra league points to Liverpool so far this season, which is brilliant. That's an even better SMCC than Luis Suarez, who has been worth a comparatively meagre 5 extra league points this season.

With these facts in mind, I don't see how it can credibly be argued that Adam was not a good signing. For 8m, Adam is undoubtedly the bargain of the summer.

Jaimie Kanwar

19
Comments
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Tornike Khomeriki
said...

Adam has been great, and it's his (alongside that of Enrique) performance that is so painful to see alongside below par games by some other team members. It's a bit like 2007-2009, watching only a couple of offensive players making the difference in the attacking play.

sorry this means nothing! fine he is a good player and with him we have more points however with out him we would still have had some1 else in that role assisting and contributing to the team! Just saying :)

Not sure if the data is correct - do the opposition get the extra points in your analysis or are we simply put into the current table with lower points? Potentially we could be even lower in the league! Agree that Adam has been good in an attacking way but don't believe that the best has come from him this season either. Would like to see him and Gerrard get a run together as lucas is out and see what he can learn from Gerrard

I think it is a credible argument Jaimie. I agree Adam has been great so far but to say we'd be in the relegation zone without him is not fair. We would not have been starting all those games with 10 men. Also comparing Adam to Alonso isn't really fair either. They played in different positions with different roles

While I agree that Adam was a good signing I don't see how this set of statistics can be taken with any gravity at all. If Adam was not in the team, another player would be, who would also contribute to the game. Your statistics seem to suggest that Adam's replacement would have no impact on the game whatsoever. How do you know we wouldn't have scored 6 with say, Gerrard instead of Adam?

And also I agree with Tommy, you have far too much time on your hands.

Jaimie are you Scottish? As has been stated above who's to say another player wouldn't have contributed? Also, that would mean we where playing with ten men if we took the scores without Adam involved and another point is that had Adam not assisted or scored then surely we would have tried to score or assist another goal, not leaving the game as a loss or draw as your 'new' scores dictate.

Adam is ugly, looks out of shape, looks old and doesn't move very fast, neither does he have much finesse - So of course people are going to underrate him! He will probably not get all the plaudits he deserves based on image alone! It's a further insult to suggest he should learn something from Gerrard. Adam has got a brilliant mindset. He plays to win, he plays with his heart, he plays his game. He does not get lost very often the way our 3 new Englishmen do. Jordan and Downing ranked higher than Adam in making key passes for their previous clubs, they are faster and technically more proficient, but they aren't having the same impact on our games like Adam is! Of course we don't expect the same from Carroll, but I wonder how much of it can be attributed to Downing and Henderson not pulling their weight enough.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to agree with Jaimie. We will have someone else playing in Adam's stead, but we may not have had the assist, and consequently, the resultant goal. Those recorded assists are facts, and had there been assists from anyone else, it would mean we would have scored more.

Haha, thought so! Patriotic lot you Scots. You make a good point and I agree with everything you have said but I'm not keen on the table. If we had a different keeper we could be in delegation territory etc. It's a team game.

All those ifs and buts..... IF we didn't sell Raul Meireles, we would have been in the top 3 now. I can't back it with the stats, but he was a great player to link with Suarez. Remember our games by the end of the season. When he did not play we lost a game. In the games he played we were scoring for fun.We definitely need someone of that type to enable Suarez's top efficiency. We shot ourselves in the both feet: by losing him and losing him to the rivals who are now enjoying his potential.

And we are still in the dark as to what exactly happened, why did he have to leave. He seemed quite happy being at Liverpool.

I can't believe the amount of crap given to him by those so called "fans" at the start of the season! Took him a couple of games to gel (like any players in a new team!) and realising he shouldn't try too hard to prove himself

Adam has been crucial for us but I wouldn't say 7 assist and 2 goals equates to 11 points. Without him, the goal scoring chances will come from other channel but definitely less and not as easy. Also, I would consider the 2 own goals as "assist" because it was him who put the pressure on opponents to commit those mistakes.

We've only got 1 goalkeeper on the pitch at any one time. We normally have 10 outfield players, more than half of whom are capable of providing assists, but the fact is that none of them have provided as many as Adam. There are some people you can always rely on to borrow a lighter from, but if that person is not there, who's to say his replacement has one?